The brief war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 seemed to many like an unexpected shot out of the blue that was gone as quickly as it came. Former Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Ronald Asmus contends that it was a conflict that was prepared and planned for some time by Moscow, part of a broader strategy to send a message to the United... more...

The brief war between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 seemed to many like an unexpected shot out of the blue. Former Assistant Deputy Secretary of State Ronald Asmus contends that it was a conflict that was prepared and planned for some time by Moscow, part of a broader strategy to send a message to the United States. more...

How and why did NATO, a Cold War military alliance created in 1949 to counter Stalin's USSR, become the cornerstone of new security order for post-Cold War Europe? Why, instead of retreating from Europe after communism's collapse, did the U.S. launch the greatest expansion of the American commitment to the old continent in decades? Written by a high-level... more...

This collection examines some of the classic questions of international relations_the role of interests, ideals, power balances, and norms in determining the actions of nations_though the lens of a set of powerful countries. Given the writers' expertise in these regions of the world, Powers and Principles also offers insight into the foreign policies... more...